The Division of Grants Administration has released revised planning amounts for No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Perkins Career and Technical Education Program, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs. For NCLB grants, this release includes the charter school planning amounts.

For NCLB and Perkins programs, the majority of local educational agencies (LEAs) saw an increase from their previous planning amounts, released June 1, 2012, which reserved funds for the possibility of sequestration. The few decreases in revised planning amounts are the result of the final allocation data, including updated 2010 Census data that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) received from the US Department of Education (USDE) and incorporated into the revised planning amount calculations.

In NCLB programs with hold-harmless provisions in the statutory formula, many LEAs have minimal or no change in their revised planning amount because the LEA’s formula data are at or below the statutory hold-harmless amount.

LEAs did not see a change in IDEA, Part B (IDEA-B) Formula grant planning amounts due to TEA following its normal process for releasing the remaining 20% of population and poverty funding with the maximum entitlements.

Charter School Planning Amounts for NCLB Programs

Planning amounts (available on the Division of Grants Administration Federal Entitlements page) for existing charter schools have been calculated based on two factors:

The enrollment data self-reported by the charter

The final USDE allocation data associated with the student’s sending district

Charter schools are reminded that pre-award costs may be requested in the NCLB Consolidated Federal Grant Application, back to July 1, 2012.

For newly opened charter schools or existing charter schools with significant expansion of enrollment, additional information will be forthcoming.

Impact of Updated Formula Data on NCLB and Perkins Allocations

In addition to the reinstatement of the 10% of funds withheld from the planning amount calculations for the possibility of sequestration, the updated 2010 Census data and other formula data also impact this year’s LEA allocations, in some cases by a significant amount. It is important to understand that the 2012–2013 allocations are based on updated 2010 Census data. The 2010 Census count is a physical count that in some cases reported drastically different population and poverty counts from the US Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data models, which are used in years between the actual physical census counts. The SAIPE is a mathematical model calculation that uses decennial counts along with survey data to estimate the population and poverty movement in states, counties, and school districts. Additional information on the census data and SAIPE is available at http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/index.html.

Application Budget Adjustments

If your LEA planning amounts have changed with the release of the revised planning amounts and your application is in the review and negotiation process, TEA grant staff will return the application during this process so the LEA may adjust its budgets.

If a Notice of Grant Award (NOGA) has already been awarded, TEAstaff will initiate budget adjustments and will adjust the largest budgeted class/object code to incorporate the revised planning amounts. The LEA may later amend the application to make any necessary changes.

If your LEA, including charter schools, has not submitted its 2012–2013 grant application, budgets are populated with revised planning amounts in the eGrants system. Refer to the respective application for submission deadlines.

Additional Information

For additional clarification, see the attached explanations of federal grant entitlement calculations for additional information on the formula entitlement calculation process and the impact of reinstating the 10% funding initially reserved for the possibility of sequestration.

For questions regarding the calculation of the revised planning amounts or the sequestration information, please email GAFPC@tea.texas.gov. For questions regarding the process for adjusting budgets or negotiating the applications, please call the Division of Grants Administration at (512) 463-8525 and ask for the grant negotiation unit.